LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 




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THE 



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CMULBERRY TREE& '■# gILI(4ULTURE^_ 



A SHORT TREATISE CONCERNING 




AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF 



SILK CULTURE 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 






BY 



\S 



ABRAHAM T HIES SEN, 



W 

SILK CULTURrST, 
FAIRBURY, NEBRASKA. 



K>PYKIGHTET> IS V^O/r WASHlM^ 




' STATE JOURNAL CO., LINCOLN 



C7V3 



* 




S rev* 

.T 




Branch of Russian Mulberry. 

(Natural Size.) 



INDEX. 



PAGE. 

Different kinds of mulberry trees 3 

Osage Orange as feed \ 4 

Gathering the seed 4 

Planting the tree ., 5 

Raising tall trees 6 

Forced introduction of the culture in Russia by Empress Catharine II 4, 8 

Raising dwarf trees 5 

American publications on silk culture 7 

Silk culture 2500 years ago 8 

Emperor Justinian orders the smuggling of the first eggs to Europe in 555 8 

Henry IV. introduces silk culture into France in the 17th century 8 

Frederic the Great in Prussia, 1774 8 

Silk culture in Chili and Peru 9 

The egg harvest 9 

Parallel between the cape tulip and the silk worm eggs 10 

Origin of Bivoltini and Polivoltini , 10 

How to take care of the eggs 11 

Chinese method 11 

Concerning healthy food 12 

space 13 

Hatching the eggs 15 

The first age 16 

" second " 18 

" third " 19 

" fourth " 20 

" fifth " 20 

Spinning heaths '. 21 

Paper spinning heaths 22 

Enemies of the worms 22 

Sorting and killing the cocoons 25 

Reeling the cocoons 25 

Moths 26 

Turkish silk culture 28 

Chinese feed four times a day 28 

Improvement of the mulberry by care 29 

Selection of the moths for laying 29 

Short rules 30 



J . — Concerning the Planting of Mulberry Trees. 



As leaves are necessary before one can feed worms, a description of 
the different kinds of leaves suitable as food for the silk-spinners, is 
necessary. 

There are three species of mulberry known respectively as white, 
black, and red, which are subdivided, especially the white, into several 
varieties. . 1. The white (Morus Alba), a native of Asia, which at- 
tains a height of 40 or 50 feet, with the trunk of hard yellow wood, 
leaves cordate, oval, or lopsided in shape, smooth on both sides, and 
with a short stem ; the berries are reddish -white, or black, some with 
almost too sweet a taste. In Italy and France this species is pre- 
ferred for silk culture, but it has many varieties : a, the Spanish ; 6, 
the Italian rose-mulberry-shrub ; c, the white large-leaved, obtained 
by grafting from the wild white ; d, the Moretti-tree, from the gar- 
den of Count Moretti at Para, Italy; e, the Morus Multicaulis, a 
shrub-like tree; /, the Chinese Morbus Intermedia Japonica ; this last 
is very easily obtained from shoots. Many prefer these last three 
kinds. 

L. S. Crozier says that the Moretti tree yields one pound of cocoons 
for every fourteen pounds of leaves, while of other kinds 16, 18 and 
20 pounds are necessary. 

The black mulberry [Morus Nigra?) of Persia, or China, is only 
good for the worms in the last period, while for little worms the white 
is by far the best. Its berries are violet-black, of pleasant acid flavor. 
The red Morus Rubra, a native of the warmer parts of ^North Amer- 
ica, is good for nothing in silk culture ; its berries are large and dark 
red, of pleasant flavor. The trees grow twenty to thirty feet high. 
The Mulberry brought to this country by the Mennonites of Russia 
nine years ago, and known under various names, belongs to the white 
variety, Morus Moretti; this at least is the opinion of Heese, of Berlin, 
President of the Brandenburg Silk Culture Society. 

L. S. Crozier, a French grower, now living in Corinth, Miss., vis- 
ited the Mennonite settlements of the West and says: "The hardy 



(4). 

so-called Russian Mulberry is the Mor-us Alba in all its varieties, 
but degenerated ; it is a classic tree and the best cocoons can be obtained 
from it, if the eggs are of good quality." 

I imported a large quantity of seed of this variety from Russia, 
and have also experimented with the French and Italian Morus Alba; 
these latter, however, froze down to the ground in winter, whilst the 
Russian mulberry was but little damaged. 

This last was forced upon the German colonists in Russia by the 
despotic government a hundred years ago, and each colonist was re- 
quired to plant a certain number of trees for silk-culture. At first 
the request of the government was only followed from fear, for it was 
backed up by the knout, but very soon the value of the tree was ap- 
preciated, and fifty years after this first experiment, every German 
farmer had beautified his land with thousands of mulberry trees from 
which many thousand pounds of cocoons were obtained. Even after 
an epidemic which killed off the worms and so reduced the silk indus- 
try that it has not yet recovered, the tree was still planted for its 
own sake, as hedge around garden and farm and for fire-wood. The 
tree was propagated there only by seed, and as only the best kinds 
then known to the Empress Catharine II, were sold to the colonists, 
the different varieties improved each other, and many wonderful sports 
occurred, one tree often having five different kinds of leaves. 

I first learned here that the Osage orange of our hedges was good 
for the worms, and although it is often used to advantage, as for in- 
stance in the year 1882, when on the 22d day of May all the mul- 
berry leaves were frost-bitten, and Osage orange was fed, till they 
grew again, it is not of great value in silk culture. This shrub will 
never take the place of the mulberry, because it is too thorny; it is 
easier to pick a thousand pounds of mulberry leaves than one hundred 
pounds of Osage orange leaves. My experiments in silk-culture have 
been made with the leaves of the Russian mulberry. 

The Brandenburg Silk Culture Society, under the patronage of the 
German Empress, in its treatise on the mulberry tree and silk-culture, 
says: "If seeds of the Moretti variety can be procured (whose leaves 
are especially fine) one can count upon obtaining thorough-bred trees.'* 

In collecting seed, take it only from the largest and finest trees. 
with large leaves, and from such as have not been plucked for several 
years. After crushing the berries and washing out the seed it should 



(5) 

be dried in an airy place in the shade (the direct rays of the sun are 
too hot and injure the germinating power); such seed will germinate 
at most until three years ; if after planting in damp earth in warm 
weather it does not germinate in two or three weeks it is worthless. 

Germination can be hastened by softening the seed in luke-warm 
liquid manure, for twenty-four to forty-eight hours. It must be 
planted one-quarter of an inch deep, and if a heavy rain occurs after 
sowing, the ground must be thoroughly raked over daily with an iron 
rake until the seed germinates, for otherwise the sprouts cannot reach 
the surface. JSTo special advice applicable to every locality can be 
given. I plant the trees in ground that, two or three feet down, is so 
hard that the roots can scarcely penetrate it, and therefore I am able 
to plant eight feet apart, and may never have to thin out, while 
another, planting on bottom land in the same manner, might have to 
cut out three-quarters of the trees in ten years, and even then find 
his plantation too close. Where wood is scarce, as in the West, it is 
always better to plant close ; 600 to 1,000 trees per acre, with rows 
eight feet apart, and four feet between trees. The labor expended 
will not be lost, for the wood can be sold for fence-posts or for fuel. 
If a straight trunk is desired the tree should be cut down to the roots 
in the second year, it will then grow four to eight feet the next sea- 
son. For a one to four acre mulberry-garden, the best plan is to 
plant a hedge all around, so that in three to four years it can be used 
as a hog pasture; the trees thus give more fruit than any other tree, 
and the berries are particularly good for hogs during the months of 
June and July; they grow fat on them, and the labor of cultivating 
the trees is saved. This does not in the least interfere with their 
value for silk-culture. 

Every farmer in the West should plant several acres of these use- 
ful trees, even if he cares nothing for silk; it will pay better than 
any kind of grain crop. The trees are so fruitful that in six years a 
single tree will often give many hundred thousand seeds. 

Italian and French growers recommend the grading up by graft- 
ing of all varieties used in silk-culture, and in Lombardy their ad- 
vice is carefully followed, and although I recognize the utility of this 
for those regions of high priced land, I do not recommend it for our 
country, because to me it is a matter of no moment, whether all the 
trees have large leaves or not. Small leaved trees I leave for fence 
posts, and pick from trees with large leaves. 



(6) 

Where land is worth $50.00 per acre and over, and where wood is 
not of great value, a different policy might be better. I have des- 
cribed the best or at least the easiest and simplest way of obtaining' 
mulberry leaves in the West, viz., By planting hedges around the 
farm, or planting a great many trees to the acre, but will also des- 
cribe another kind of plantation; neither one plan nor the other 
needs to be followed exactly. When in this book I say, this or that 
is easier, it does not necessarily mean that some other plan might not 
be just as good. 

If high trees are preferred, the rows in the nursery should be cut 
down to the root in the second year, leaving one or two inches about 
the end of February, then only a single shoot should be allowed to 
grow, from which, during the first summer all side buds should be 
pinched off; by this plan, in a favorable season, the shoot will 
grow four to eight feet high in one year. The top can then be cut 
off at any height desired. In the next year a top can be made by 
cutting off all unnecessary twigs near the trunk, taking care not to 
damage the branch on which the twig grows, and other twigs can be 
shortened to any desired length. Some prefer to do this at the end 
of February, but May and June seem as good a time to me, for then 
the cut-off twigs and leaves can be given to the worms. 

The mulberry tree is not at all sensitive. In Russia some silk- 
growers cut down the mulberry hedges every year to feed the worms, 
without damaging their trees' vitality. If the trees have first been 
planted in a nursery, it is easy to observe what trees have fine leaves, and 
the others can be improved by grafting or left for wood, while the better 
trees are transplanted. In order to grow very large trees, holes three 
feet deep and six feet wide should be dug one year in advance, and 
in planting a good layer of top earth, or in .case of poor soil well 
rotted manure should be placed at the bottom of the hole, the trees 
should then be planted at the same depth at which they stood before 
transplanting. The roots should be laid straight, and enough water 
poured in to make the earth sloppy. They should be treated as other 
fruit trees and not plucked too closely during the first two years. 

The proper distance apart in an orchard is 20 to 30 feet, and then 
grain can be grown between the trees. Well manured land helps 
their growth. In poor soil a distance of sixteen feet is sufficient, 
In Italy the favorite dwarf tree orchards are laid out in rows six- 



(7) 

teen feet apart and grain grown between. If possible, plant the rows 
north and south, as the leaves receive more sunlight than in rows 
east and west. Leaves grown in the shade are not good for the 
worms. In order to grow and keep good healthy trees, it is better, 
though not absolutely necessary, to change about in plucking ; pluck 
either every other tree or every other row, year about, and even then 
I prefer to feed with cut off twigs, because plucking the leaves seems 
to damage the tree more than cutting oif the twigs. When worms 
are little, and up to the third moulting, they need so little food that 
plucking the leaves for them does not hurt the trees. In Lombard y 
a tree is plucked nearly bare, but then the one year shoots are cut 
back to two to three inches. If cutting back is necessary, why not 
cut the twigs with the leaves? This seems to me better, where help 
is as expensive as it is West. 

Short History of Silk Culture. 

The value of silk culture has, in my opinion, not yet been properly 
or fully recognized in America. It would seem that the spirit of spec- 
ulation which affects every kind of undertaking and turns into stock 
companies, in which millions are to be made, every enterprise, is largely 
responsible for this. Moreover, the press and its representatives know 
but little of silk culture, and often state that the capacity of a tree is 
very much greater than it really is. Swindling nursery agents are 
even more at fault. During the six years of my residence in America 
over one hundred newspaper articles have been sent to me of which 
only two did not contain exaggerations and mistakes. Most all state 
that two hundred mulberry trees on one to two acres will yield silk 
to the value of $1,100 to $1,300 in one crop, an 1 that three such crops 
can be raised in one year. 

In our county new nursery agents constantly repeat these same false- 
hoods, and as soon as unmasked in this locality reprint their stuff in 
other localities. 

When either individual or company starts out in silk culture with 
such expectations and invests capital accordingly, it is only natural 
that the business, not yielding the expected millions, suddenly col- 
lapses. 

For the Asiatics, whose standard of living is so very low, silk cul- 
ture has been for forty-four centuries a very profitable business. 



(8) 

In the twentieth century B.C. at the time when Abraham is sup- 
posed to have been grazing his flocks in Mesopotamia, the Empress 
Si-ling-tschi of China busied her subjects with silk culture, and to- 
day China, India, Italy, and France furnish the most silk. 555 a.d. 
the first Chinese eggs were brought from India to Europe. The 
Emperor Justinian had persuaded Christian monks to smuggle eggs, 
hidden in their hollowed staffs from the country of the Seres in India. 

For nearly 600 years silk culture was carried on by the noble 
ladies of Constantinople, Corinth, and Athens. In 1146 a.d. Roger 
I. brought the secret to Sicily, and from there the knowledge spread 
to Italy and Spain. Henry IV. of France had millions of mulberry 
trees planted in that country, and seldom has a king benefited his 
subjects in a greater manner. Since that time France has produced 
yearly from twenty to fifty million dollars worth of raw silk. In 
North Germany, after many obstacles, Frederic the Great succeeded in 
raising in the year 1774, near Magdeburg, Halberstadt, and Pomerania, 
6,849 lbs. of silk; ten years later, 14,000 lbs.; nevertheless, notwith- 
standing magnificent subsidies by the Government, distribution of 
prizes and premiums, and notwithstanding the praiseworthy persever- 
ance in silk culture of the Germans themselves, the wished-for results 
have not been obtained. The North German climate does not seem 
suitable. 

In Russia the Empress Catharine II. caused experiments to be made 
by the German colonists of southern Russia. By an order of the Em- 
press these latter had to buy from the Government millions of little 
mulberry trees at about five cents apiece. Although it took several 
years to grow the trees on the steppes, silk culture finally developed 
to an extraordinary extent, but about thirty years ago devastating 
epidemics utterly destroyed it. I made several experiments there 
with fresh eggs imported from Japan, but they only remained healthy 
the first year, and in the second gave no good cocoons. 

Here in America, as far as my three years' experience goes, and that 
of my compatriots in Minnesota and Kansas, there seems to be no rea- 
son why silk culture should not succeed. Thus far there is no steady 
market for cocoons or raw silk, although we are sometimes promised 
$1.25 to $1.75 per pound for cocoons. I would recommend silk cul- 
ture as very profitable if the cocoons were paid for at the rate of 
$1.25 per pound at the nursery, for at that price a person could earn 



(9) 

from seventy-five cents to $1.00 per hour of labor given. If our 
wiseacres in Washington would furthermore support us with a good 
protective tariff on raw silk, silk culture would increase largely. 

From my own experience, with regard to health and strength 
of silk worms, I am inclined to believe that there are regions in 
America where the culture of silk worms might be begun to raise 
>eggs to supply the French and Italians, who now draw their supply 
at great expense from Asia. If this should be, it might yet happen 
that two acres of mulberries in one year would yield $1,000 to $2,000 
of eggs, or even $4,000. 

In the year 1871 an Italian, Louis Sada, of Lombardy, raised in 
Ohili and Peru the Milan and Japanese worms with such success that 
the Representative of the German Empire, Mr. Bunsen, sent to his 
Government a portion of the eggs. What became of them I have not 
learned. Louis Sada writes as follows: "In Chili the cocoon lost 
neither in form or size, nor did the quality of the silk deteriorate. In 
Peru I noticed the cocoons became smaller, but the quality of the 
eggs and silk was better than in Chili/' The transplantation of worms 
from one region to another has been therefore crowned with success. 

Eggs and How to Keep Them. 

Those wishing to raise silk worms should begin with a few eggs 
only, perhaps one-fourth ounce; this is sufficient to become acquainted 
with the nature and customs of the worm. This will give him an 
opportunity to make preparation for the next year, if it is desired 
to increase the business, to make calculations as to the wants of the 
worms with regard to shelves, space, foliage, warmth, etc. As much 
or more care should be taken as with other breeding, in order to get 
good worms. This the Europeans know from experience, since they 
procure fresh eggs annually from Japan, which pass Omaha," Neb., 
generally in the latter part of February on their way east. Those 
having a good quality of eggs may keep them in a dry cellar in win- 
ter, or in a north room that is not heated, and from which they must 
be taken to the cellar in spring when it begins to get warm. Down 
to zero Fahrenheit does not destroy the eggs, but it is better to keep 
them near the freezing point, for if kept warmer in winter they 
hatch too early. If you have no dry cellar which is free from mould 
keep the eggs in the winter at least sixty to ninety days in a cold 
room, since the least mould will produce sickness. 



(10) 

The preservation of eggs in ice cellars to keep them until late in 
the summer, has not proven practicable in my experience. The de- 
velopment of the worms can be forcibly held back in this manner, 
but this interference with the natural development reaps its own pun- 
ishment. 

The beautiful blooming Cape Tulip flowers in South Africa when 
there, in the last days of the month of October, spring appears. Brought 
to Europe, according to J. G. Beer's account of horticulture (Expo- 
sition in Paris, 1867) ; when brought to Europe, it flowers in South Af- 
rican spring time; and when with us all growth has ceased and fallen 
into winter-sleep, this tulip begins to grow as if by magic, and this 
whether laid on ice, or warm, whether dry or extremely wet, whether 
in the light or in the dark, the tulip sprouts, for its spring has come. 
But all efforts to make it sprout during its long sleep are unsuccessful 
till October conies. Silk worms, eggs show similar traits. Laid in the 
latter part of June or July, the worms do not develop until the next 
spring, and no person has yet succeeded in hatching them sooner ; but 
for some unknown reason, some females lay eggs which hatch in a 
few days ; these are the so-called bastards, which breed three genera- 
tions in a year. In China and Japan the kinds called Bivoltini and 
Polivoltini originated in this manner. These species were imported 
to Europe lately, because they suffer less from the diseases existing 
there. I never succeeded in raising as good cocoons from them as 
from others. The cause may be found in the fact that in July 
the foliage is mostly affected with blight; and in spring, when the 
leaves are free from blight, I never experimented with this kind. 

As soon as the development of the embryo takes place, and not until 
then, can we hatch the worms at any time. According to French 
breeders, the embryo develops in the middle of January, and the 
eggs should after that time not be exposed to a temperature of more 
than 50° Fahrenheit. The transportation of eggs should not take 
place in warm weather (unless it be short distances), as the time when 
they want to hatch, to lay the eggs on ice to keep them back until June, 
is possible, but then they will never hatch, because the worm has de- 
veloped despite the cold and is chilled to death. To place eggs in an 
air-tight place, as is done with seeds, which keeps them for years, will 
not answer, in two months they are spoiled, the evaporation of the 
egg smothers them. To hang them in the cellar in a gauze bag is the 



(11) 

best, but if spiders, which like eggs, are about, it is necessary to put 
a wire gauze around the bag or place the same in a tin box with air 
holes in it. With fresh well water I loosen the eggs from the stuff 
on which they are laid, as soon as the laying is over, and then wash 
with water, dry in the shade, changing them over to fresh dry blank- 
ets, stirring them up. When thoroughly dry I pour them into a 
gauze bag and leave them till winter is over. I state this, knowing 
that some will coutradict me, as they think it is better to leave the 
eggs on the linen or paper where laid until hatched, as washing is 
considered injurious, but this has not been my experience. 

From time immemorial Chinese breeders have made card-board 
from the bark of the mulberry tree, and on this the eggs are laid. 
It is then covered with ashes of mulberry wood and the paper is 
dipped about New Year into salt or river water, or lye of mulberry 
wood ashes, and the eggs washed several days in succession, then (ac- 
cording to F. Haberland, Professor at the Royal Agricultural College 
of Altenburg, Hungary, in his work on Silk Spinning Insects and their 
Diseases, Vienna, 1879), these cards are hung out in the air to dry, 
whereby they are exposed to the cold wind, rain, and snow for a 
few days, that the future worms may become stronger and hardier. 
If the eggs have to hang in wind and storm to produce a strong breed 
(superstition may have much to do with this, although it is done with- 
out injury to the worms), the washing immediately after the laying of 
the eggs may have a similar good effect. It is certain that these eggs 
laid on card-paper have plenty of air, while the air has not the same 
access to those preserved in bags; it is therefore necessary to make 
the bags small and to pour in them about three — at the most, five 
ounces, then the eggs will preserve as well as on card-paper or cloth. 
I only want to state here, that eggs can be preserved in bags, and 
that it may be as well to leave them on card-paper or cotton" cloth, 
then to wash them off, but it is more trouble to preserve such pieces 
of cloth and keep the spiders away than it is to preserve eggs that 
are washed loose. 

Silk Culture and its Requisites. 

The main requisites for the culture of silk worms are: Healthy 
food in abundance, plenty of warm shelter, and careful nursing. 



(12) 

(a) How to Obtain Healthy Food in Abundance. 

The first requisite is plenty of good mulberry leaves as food for the 
worms, as has already been indicated in the description of the tree, 
so that food may be had as near and fresh as possible. In the first 
year try only a few eggs, about the fourth of an ounce, from which 
8,000 to 10,000 worms will hatch, and these will need about 500 pounds 
of leaves. A beginner needs as a rule more leaves than an old hand 
for the same number of worms, and must be careful not to raise more 
worms than he can feed. Worms eat in their last period before spin- 
ning more than three times as much food as in the preceding four 
periods. If the ordinary estimate of 1,600 pounds of leaves to one 
•ounce of eggs is correct, in the last period 1,100 pounds of leaves 
would be necessary ; the real proportion is, however, about as follows : 
in the first age the worms from an ounce of eggs need at most ten 
pounds, in the second 24 pounds, in the third 110 pounds, in the last 
more than 1,400, a total of more than 1,800. The beginner whose 
young hedges, bushes and trees had supplied liim the necessary 500 
pounds up to the fourth age, would find himself in great straits to 
supply the necessary 1,600 pounds for the last age. 

I warn the grower again concerning the necessity of good healthy 
food, for although the leaves of the unimproved varieties of white 
mulberry give good food, the large leaved varieties, if not too coarse, 
especially the Moretti tree, are to be preferred, because they give less 
trouble in plucking; also that the leaves of detached and high trees 
are better than those of close standing, shaded trees, and also that the 
leaves of young shoots, however good for young worms, cannot re- 
place the leaves of older branches for the last age, and finally, that in 
case of necessity worms will not reject any kind of healthy mulberry 
leaf, not even that of the black mulberry; but do not in such cases 
thrive and spin well. Worms die if fed on dwarfed, seared, frozen 
leaves, or leaves grown in valleys, or fermented leaves from close 
packing; in short, on any kind of spoiled leaf. Therefore never let 
a supply of leaves on hand become damp and mouldy; but preserve 
it in well ventilated cellars. If the leaves have been soaked by the 
rain or by heavy dew, they should first be dried in a barn or garret, 
being turned over frequently, and then removed to the cellar. Even 
here they should often be stirred up, especially in the morning and 
evening, when it is cool ; having all windows open in order that the 



(13) 

generated gasses may escape. In rainy weather I pluck only suffi- 
cient for the daily need, having my trees right aj: hand, and even on 
Sunday I feed directly from the trees. 

(6) How to Provide Shelter and Procure Necessary Ap- 
paratus. 

A warm shelter for the worms, and a proper arrangement of the 
same, whether room, hall, or garret, with conveniences for artificial 
heating, and a proper supply of shelves, frames, and scaffolding, is 
necessary if the business is to be profitable. 

In cold climates artificial heat is often necessary to equalize the 
sudden changes of temperature, because the activity of the worms 
diminishes during cold weather, and they are thus checked in their 
development, and such checking or Jaming is particularly disastrous 
at the moulting or spinning periods, although experienced growers 
have raised worms during the three last ages in unheated barns and 
sheds in a cold climate. This is always attended with risk, and such 
an experiment ought not to be tried by a beginner. Even in Italy 
fire-places are provided to regulate the temperature. Some growers, 
without conveniences for heating, have succeeded by hatching the 
eggs later and carried to a good end the care of the worms by keep- 
ing them at night in cow and sheep stables, where the animal warmth 
moderated the outside temperature ; or by putting them in garrets un- 
der thatched roofs, which are- better than tile roofs. In my home in 
southern Russia we used the cattle stalls in silk culture during the 
third and fourth moulting ; but first cleaned them out, having turned 
out the cattle. It is always best to so arrange matters that worms 
and leaves develop together, so that not much foliage is necessary 
after the 20th of June, late plucking and cutting being very .injur- 
ious to the tree. Sufficient shelter for the worms must be provided. 
Some are afraid to begin for fear of not having room enough. 
Others start with so many worms that they have no place for their 
development. The size of the space, however, is not so important as 
its arrangement. Many a grower will raise 30,000 to 35,000 worms 
in a room 12x10x8 — about 1,000 cubic feet. Great skill is required 
to manage so small a space, and I would advise a less number of 
worms, as they are easier taken care of, and it is easier to provide 
fresh air and cleanliness. The best and most economical arrangement 



(14) 

of the room is as follows : Fasten between floor and ceiling, upright 
ladders, so that across the rounds lath or thin boards can be laid, 
upon which the frames are placed. After the third moulting the ex- 
pense of frames can be saved by placing the worms upon woven wil- 
low frames. The several stories of the scaffolding can be one to one 
and a half feet apart. A minimum distance should be nine inches, 
and only then when the frame- work is of netting or basket work, 
which permits ventilation from below. The scaffolding should be 
about eight feet high, twelve feet long, and have four stories; the 
lowest two feet from the floor on account of the cold. The frame 
should be three feet long and two feet wide, so that each division 
would have five frames; twenty-five frames in all. This will give a 
surface of 150 square feet ; entirely sufficient for the worms from 
one-fourth ounce of eggs. Five to six hundred square feet are neces- 
sary for the well-being of the worms from one ounce of eggs during 
the last stage. The frames can be made of four laths; the two 
shorter mortised into the longer ones. Between the lath .stretch 
twine, on which lay or paste strong perforated paper or paste-board. 
The frames are more durable if strengthened by cross-pieces, and 
covered with linen nailed to the lath. If the frames are only 3x2 
feet stretched linen is enough without cross-pieces. Such frames last 
many years. For the last age one can save frames by placing the 
worms on beds of plain boards provided with borders. 

Ventilation and heating go together, for if the stove is in the room 
the air is renewed as soon as there is a fire. On warm days open 
door and windows. Ventilate with great care close and stuffy rooms, 
and protect the worms from the rays of the sun, as they naturally 
avoid strong light. 

(c) The Silk Worms and Good Eggs. 

(Moth Eggs.) 

After providing proper apparatus the next requisite is good eggs. 
Generally eggs raised by small growers are not good. Draw your 
supply, therefore, from large growers, with well established reputa- 
tation, who only keep in stock the best kinds. The two principal 
species are those that give yellow silk and white silk, respectively, 
each of Avhich has its varieties. In France eight varieties of yellow 
and three of white are distinguished. Of the yellow I prefer the 



(15) 

large cocoons; of the white the sina kind. The white grow faster 
and eat less, but the yellow give more silk and are hardier. The 
price for white silk is often higher than for yellow, and although the 
difference will probably increase on account of the growing demand 
for light colored silk, my advice is to begin with the yellow. The 
yellow^ variety is well marked during the last age by the yellow feet 
of the worms. 

(d) Care and Nursing. 

(1) Care of the Eggs and Hatching. 

Home raised eggs, as well as imported, should be kept in an airy, 
dry place, protected from mice and spiders by wire gauze. The 
proper time for hatching is when the first leaves of the mulberry have 
sprouted. Place the eggs then in a warm room, beginning with a 
temperature of 60° Fahrenheit, increasing it daily 2° to 3°, until a 
temperature of 80° is reached, being careful to keep the air damp by 
sprinkling the floor or hanging up damp cloths, or placing under the 
frames a dish filled with water. By careful observance of these rules 
uniform hatching will be attained. Lay the eggs in shallow boxes or 
scattered on paper, and place them in some quiet spot, not too near 
the fire, nor exposed to the sun, low enough to be easily seen. The 
eggs become lighter and lighter in color, and shortly before hatching 
are almost white. When hatching, lay over them perforated paper 
or coarse tulle. Beware of tobacco smoke, as it kills both eggs and 
worms. 



(16) 
(?) Nursing of the Worms Till They Spin. 

(a) FIRST AGE. FROM HATCHING OF THE EGGS TO COMPLETION OF 

FIRST MOULTING. 




V -■ :-^ 



Worms creeping through paper the first morning. 

(Natural Size.) 

Soon the paper or tulle will be dotted with little hairy dark brown 
worms; feed them with tender little leaves. When covered with the 
worms, carry the leaves on a sheet of paper into the nursery on to their 
frames, if the room is warm enough. These are the first comers, ordi- 
narily few in number. The next day provide a fresh supply of young 
leaves over the hatching boxes; many chop up the leaves, which is 
not necessary. Carry the new comers hourly away, but do not mix 
them with the first. Continue this from day to day till the stragglers of 



(17) 

the fifth and sixth day are all hatched. The more eggs, the more care- 
ful one must be to separate the worms according to hour and day, in 
order to save labor later, in changing and feeding, and also in order 
not to disturb those moulting; in short, keep together worms of the 
same age. Many breeders check the development of the first comers 
by keeping them in a cool place and take particular care of the last 
comers in order to secure uniform development of all ; others throw 
away or give away the last comers as worthless, and some reject the 
first comers, although they are the very best; others again take par- 
ticular care of these for breeding purposes. The first hatched are 
generally the best, the last hatched the poorest. The mandibles of 
the little worms are very tender; they can only eat little tender leaves 
and if fed on large leaves do not thrive. If the worms are behind 
the leaves in age the same care must be exercised in the second age, 
which can be done, as the mulberry is constantly growing fresh leaves. 
As soon as all the worms have been removed to the frames, provide 
abundant and suitable food. It should be plucked daily, in the morn- 
ing, strewing it over the worms four to seven times a day. Some 
growers prefer chopped leaves, which they strew over the little worms 
with sieves, but I do not. Frequent feeding and not more than they 
can eat at a time, one meal late at night and another very early in 
the morning on yesterday's leaves is recommended. A good rule for 
feeding is : tender, light colored, fresh, cool — not damp — leaves often, 
but not too much. By feeding only the tenderest leaves, the smallest 
worms get along without having them chopped. The young worms 
eat with increasing appetites up to the fourth day, eat less the fourth 
and fifth, and cease entirely the fifth, or sixth, or seventh day, lying 
quite still with raised heads, twenty-four to thirty-six hours, until the 
first moulting is accomplished. The fourth day, the time of the 
greatest appetite, is the best for cleaning the frames, by changing the 
worms on fresh leaves over to a new frame and then clean the frame 
from dust and the remains of leaves. The easiest way to change them 
is to lay a fine net, or perforated paper, or tulle with fresh leaves on 
it, over the old frame ; nearly all the worms creep through, the strag- 
glers can be transferred afterwards on other leaves or twigs; if suf- 
ficient nets are on hand it is better to leave them under the caterpillars 
than to shake them off, which takes not only time and care but is apt 
to injure some of the worms. Do not change them if they are already 



(18) 

moulting. Artificial helps are only necessary after the third moulting. 
Up to that time it is easy to transfer them from one frame to another 
by changing the leaves, without running the risk of hurting them by 
the weight of nets and paper. The duration of the first age varies 
from five to eight days according to temperature; in cooler weather 
they eat less and therefore must not be fed so much. The temperature 
should be kept at about 75° Fahrenheit, and if at night it falls to 60° 
or 70° warm the room with a fire. The worms eat in this period 
nine to twelve pounds of leaves per ounce of eggs; at the end of this 
age the worms lose the dark and hairy appearance, become white near 
the head, and at moulting are nearly four times as large and fourteen 
times heavier than at hatching. This is a critical period and they 
require great attention ; they must neither be disturbed nor fed. Fast- 
ened with a few threads they hold up their heads, behind which the 
skin becomes wrinkled and transparent, so that the new head can be 
seen ; the skin suddenly bursts and the new worm creeps out, mottled 
gray in color with broader head and mandibles. 

When moulting be careful to regulate temperature and ventilation, 
by means of gauze windows or frequent opening of the doors and 
windows, if the outside temperature is not below 68°. They will also 
moult with less warmth, but so unequally as to cause great trouble 
and danger from protracted fasting; neither should it be too warm. 
If the worms have been Well cared for and well fed the day before 
moulting they come out of the skin fat and round. 

(6) THE SECOND AGE. FROM THE FIRST TO THE COMPLETING OF THE 

SECOND MOULTING. 

After the first moulting the worms need a warm, clear, dry, stirring 
air, until they are dry and their mandibles have had time to harden. 
After two or three hours the temperature can be diminished, and their 
frame covered with tender large leaves or with little twigs with two 
or three leaves on, and I prefer the latter, in order to transfer them 
to new frames. The frames and nets can be used with larger holes. 
The following use of the nets saves much labor in the fourth and fifth 
age. The nets are to be stretched on frames of the same size as the 
ordinary linen frames. On each linen frame lay a net so that the 
worms are not touched, cover the net Avith picked leaves. In a short 
time nearly all the worms will be found on the fresh leaves, place 



(19) 

frame and net on the work-bench, that should be in every room, lay a 
fresh frame upside down on the net and by turning them over, worms 
and leaves are transferred to the fresh frame. Avwcl all jars in such 
transfers. Even if a few worms remain on the net it makes but little 
difference, as the net will probably be immediately used to transfer oth- 
ers of a like age. Sometimes not a worm will remain. A sufficient 
supply of nets will be found a great convenience, but they must be of 
assorted sizes of mesh to suit the worms. If old fish nets cannot be 
bought, it is not hard to learn to make new ones. A stiff frame is bet- 
ter than a loose one, as the latter requires two persons to make the 
change. 

If the worms in each frame are well assorted they will all moult 
nearly together. Those first through can work ten to sixteen hours 
without food, till the others are ready. After moulting much food 
must not be given. In changing them over give more place by tak- 
ing the net away when only half the worms have crept through, and 
providing a fresh net fur the others. In this age, that lasts five days 
and in which the appetite increases and diminishes, they should be 
cleaned on the third day, because on the fourth many have already 
begun to moult. They should be fed six times daily with tender 
leaves, of which they will consume altogether twenty to twenty-four 
pounds per ounce of eggs. Their length increases to half an inch, 
they become four times as heavy, and their backs are marked with 
the characteristic pincer-like marks; the moulting takes place as be- 
fore. 

(c) THE THIRD AGE. FROM THE SECOND TO THE COMPLETION OF 

THE THIRD MOULTING. 

Up to this stage the worms are so small that many breeders leave 
them in the hatching room, but now more space is so necessary that 
they must be transferred to the nursery, where the temperature must 
be about 70°, but the stragglers from the second moulting should 
be left in the warmer room and be better fed so that they can catch 
up. 

During this age of seven days they should be cleaned, with the 
room warm, on the third and fifth day after the morning feed, and 
should be daily ventilated, and fed four to six times, no longer with 
chopped or little leaves. Many begin to moult on the sixth day, be- 



(20) 

come one inch long and yellowish- white in color, and are four times 
as heavy ; seventy-two of them weigh half an ounce, and they need 
100 lbs. of leaves per ounce of eggs. The moulting goes on as be- 
fore. 

(cZ) THE FOURTH AGE. FROM THE THIRD TO THE COMPLETION OF 

THE FOURTH MOULTING. 

The worms now need a temperature of 68° to 72° Fahrenheit, and 
must be fed abundantly four times daily. As both the leaves and the 
worm dry out, not only the frames but also the room should be daily 
cleaned and well ventilated. They should be given more space every 
second day, for unless great care is exercised the seeds of disease, which 
develop in the fifth period, are now contracted. They should be fed 
on hedge and shrub leaves and the lower leaves of the trees; the great 
mass of the strongest leaves should be saved for the next period. 
Even in this age they eat ravenously, especially from the third day 
after the moulting, when the hurry begins. They use in six or seven 
days 260 ibs. of leaves per ounce of eggs. On the seventh day, hav- 
ing attained the length of one inch and a half, they will nearly all be- 
gin to moult, and if the temperature and ventilation is good will pass 
through successfully. 

(g) THE FIFTH AGE. FROM THE FOURTH MOULTING TO THE SPIN- 
NING. 

This age determines the success or failure of the whole experiment. 
If the worms become sick or die, trouble .and expense has been in 
vain. Care and diligence are to be redoubled, not only because the 
marvelous gluttony of the worms requires so much more work, but 
because also the spinners must be provided for. In this last age the 
worms eat more than three times as much as the total hitherto, namely, 
1,200 to 1,700 lbs. per ounce of eggs. The temperature should be 
kept at about 70° — some prefer 75°, and they should be fed three 
times daily with strong leaves from the crown of the trees. He who 
supplies insufficient food now loses two-thirds of his silk harvest. If 
well fed they will begin to spin in seven to eight days, otherwise in 
nine to ten days. They must not be allowed to crowd each other; 
good ventilation and great cleanliness are more than ever necessary. 
See that the air does not become too damp ; open the windows fre- 



(21) 

•quently; place around the room unslacked lime, which will take up 
the excess of moisture and carbonic acid. If (which is much rarer) 
the air should be too dry or too warm, the floor should be sprinkled 
with water, the leaves should be dampened and wet cloths should be 
hung up. 

The worms are very sensitive to electric and thunder storms, and 
are especially affected by the heat preceding them; if ready to spin 
they fall backwards as if lamed, and many perish. It would seem as 
if the electricity of the air affected the fluid silk in the worms very 
much as it affects milk. In case of storm, close all windows and 
doors; light, if possible, a fire in order to create a draft, and if this is 
not possible fan with cloths and sprinkle the room with cold water. 

About forty-eight hours before beginning to spin the worms reach 
their greatest size. Many of them are forty lines long, and seven 
will average an ounce in weight. From now on their appetite dimin- 
ishes, they purge themselves, weight and size decrease, their bodies be- 
come transparent, especially underneath. When they become uneasy, 
raise and wave their heads, begin to creep upwards, and seek out dark 
corners, it is a sign that they are about to spin the first threads, which 
are to fasten the cocoon. 

[3~\ How to Treat the Spinners and Set the Heaths. 

Where many of the worms exhibit the preceding symptoms put 
the others on short allowance, as some of them are apt to develop 
dropsy instead of spinning. When ready to spin, the silk thread is 
spun from the mouth, and wherever they go they spin it after them, 
thus wasting much silk unless they speedily find a suitable place. The 
necessary number of spinning heaths should now be set up. If by ■ 
judicious feeding all the worms are ready to spin together it will be 
hard to provide all at once the necessary number of heaths, but they 
mostly ripen by degrees. The heath consists of bundles of twigs in 
whose forks the worms find space and sufficient support to begin the 
-cocoon; especially good are birch twigs, broom, rye straw, heather 
shavings, bean and pea straw, and oak twigs with the dry leaves, in 
whose hollows they like to spin ; between these bundles, which ought 
to be fastened in the various stories, the frames full of worms are 
pushed, and soon the spinning begins. Supply the worms according 
to their needs, and do not hurry those that are not willing to go, as 



(22) 

handling does them no good. Some growers make a kind of tray of 
paste-board, in shape like a dust pan, covering it with white paper 
and narrow enough to fit between the bundles"; this tray is covered 
with fresh leaves, and after collecting all the worms ready to spin they 
are suddenly jerked between the bundles ; they suffer less from this 
treatment than if held in the hands. If the scaffolding is not stronger 
than that described in the first part of this treatise, the different sto- 
ries can be strengthened by thin boards or empty frames so that the 
bundles can be placed between them. If there is not enough place 
for the frames and worms, the nets and perforated paste boards can 
be used, in order to place the worms between the heaths. Around 
the bottom of the heaths, chopped straw, chaff, or saw-dust should 
be scattered to the depth of one inch, in order to absorb the liquid 
discharged by the worms just before spinning. Those that will not 
climb can be covered with pea or bean straw or other material and 
they will spin where they are ; they should, however, be aided in fol- 
lowing their instinct, by erecting many climbing poles or twigs which 
lead up to the bundles. With proper care double spinners will 
occur, and the picking of the cocoons will be an easy matter. A good 
and economical plan of preparing spinning heaths is to fold straw- 
paper or ordinary packing-paper so that the sheet presents this edge 



j i i i 



Each hollow is three-quarters of an inch deep and wide, and the worms 
like to spin in them. During the spinning the air should be pure and 
not too damp ; the temperature should be as near as possible 72°, as 
this facilitates the flow of the silk. If it is cooler many change to 
chrysalides without spinning. Healthy worms complete their cocoons 
in three days, and after the last have begun to spin, at least that time 
should be given before any are picked. 

HOW TO PRESERVE THE WORMS FROM THEIR ENEMIES. 

The enemies of the worms are sparrows, flycatchers, singing birds, 
and especially chickens, which eat them greedily, also rats and mice, 
which devour not only worms but also cocoons. Mice and rat holes 
should be stopped up with broken glass and mortar, and otherwise de- 
stroy the vermin. Cats can be kept but not in the nursery itself, as 



(23) 

they also eat the worms and otherwise disturb them. As' ants often 
trouble them, boiling water should be poured in the cracks through 
which they may come. Spiders are very dangerous and must be sought 
after daily, as they get in through the windows and between the leaves* 
Horse-flies, wasps, and hornets also trouble them, and are best kept out 
by netted windows. 

[/] The Silk Harvest, and How to Reap It. 

I. HOW TO TREAT THE COCOONS. 

This embraces three processes: (1) The picking and sorting, (2) 
The killing, and (3) reeling of the cocoon. 

(1) The picking and sorting. — At the earliest, three days after the 
last worms have spun their cocoons, the heaths should be torn down 
and the cocoons picked. The outer loose floss silk should be collected 
by itself and saved. The cocoons are sorted in three divisions : (1) 
good and solid, (2) bad and soft, and (3) those selected for breeding, 
viz., the largest and best. The better as well -as the poorer kind are 
to be sold or reeled. If they are sold according to weight it should 
be done very soon, as they lose daily; if they are reeled it should also 
be done soon before the moths creep out. 

As everything cannot be done at once, and there is danger in delay, 
as the moths pierce the cocoons in two to three weeks after spinning 
and thus spoil them, the chrysalides must be killed. 

(%) The killing. — The moth, when fully developed, dissolves the 
gum at one end of the cocoon by means of an acrid secretion that turns 
brown upon exposure to the air. It then bores through the silk and 
tears it so badly that it cannot be reeled and has lost its value, although 
it can still be used for coarse hand work. The killing is a very par- 
ticular job, as the cocoons must not be damaged; it is best done by 
exposing them to either dry heat (baking) or steam, either of which 
suffocates the moth, it could easiest be done by boiling the cocoons, but 
this dissolves the gum and prevents the reeling, and moreover , it is 
^hen difficult to dry them in large quantities. 

In baking, place them in an oven heated to about 120° Fahrenheit; 
bake them neither too long nor too fast, as otherwise they will no^ 
reel ; place them in little baskets in the ovens or on frames, such as 
are used in drying fruit, to the depth of two fingers; soon one will 



(24) 




The Silk- Reel as it is used in Southern Russia and by myself. 



(25) 

hear a loud crackling, caused by the spasmodic movements of the 
crysalides in the cocoons; this ceases at the end of half an hour; some 
take them out immediately, others leave them a full hour to make a 
sure thing of it. After the baking the cocoons should be piled to- 
gether and covered up closely, which both increases the chance of 
suffocation and also dampens the cocoons from within and thus makes 
them soft and pliable. After cooling they should be dried in a well 
ventilated place, and then they will reel easy. Evaporation of water 
during the baking is to be recommended, as it both helps to kill the 
chrysalides and prevents them from drying too much. 

The killing should be thorough, as otherwise great damage is caused 
by the liquid from the chrysalides, which ruins the cocoon and pre- 
vents the reeling. To be sure that all are dead cut open one of the black- 
est or double cocoons and touch the chrysalid with a red-hot wire; if it 
moves it is not yet dead. The danger of a greater heat than 120°, or 
when baked too quickly and too long, seems to be less the drying and 
burning of the thread than of the gum, which then becomes insoluble 
in water; therefore the killing by steam is preferable, because the 
boiling point can be reached and death made certain without injur- 
ing the cocoon. In this method the difficulty is in drying after- 
wards, for if not well dried they become black and mouldy and 
spoil. He who owns a stationary boiler should proceed as fol- 
lows: Take a sieve of gauze, fill it with cocoons three or four 
deep, cover them with a woolen blanket, place it over the boiler so it 
does not touch the boiling water. The hot steam penetrates them and 
in five minutes they are all dead. Pour them on to a blanket, spread 
them out and dry them in the shade. Or another plan is to place a 
barrel, open at both ends, over the boiler. Putty it down to the boiler 
or make it air tight with wet clothes ; fill the barrel with flat baskets 
filled with cocoons. Cover the top tightly, leaving a few holes, and 
steam for half an hour, when all will be dead. In five minutes take 
out the baskets, spread the cocoons on a sheet and dry them well. 
Be careful not to let hot water fall on them. Spotted cocoons should 
be first sorted out to prevent the staining of the others. 

(3) The reeling of the coeoon. — We advise all, not acquainted with 
the art of reeling or provided with the proper machines, not to at- 
tempt to reel, but to sell their cocoons to some practical reeler. 
Growers who have many double cocoons or inferior cocoons which 



(26) 

they cannot either reel or sell, or who have many pierced cocoons, 
should know that these can be used as also the cocoon skins and 
floss silk by boiling them with soda or lye. The gum is thus all dis- 
solved and the dried cocoons can then be combed and carded out so 
as to give an excellent silk yarn. 

II. — MOTHS AND EGGS. 

From poor eggs only poor worms come, and from moths of poor 
worms only inferior eggs are obtained. As poor spinners can be 
graded up by care, so the very best breed can deteriorate from want 
of care. The greatest circumspection is therefore necessary to obtain 
good eggs. After collecting the first hatched worms and giving them 
particular care one should select of these the first and best spinners 
and sort them carefully out; if this was not done at first sort from the 
whole lot the largest, evenest, finest spun, richest in silk, and at both 
ends stiff cocoons, and of these again select the very best. Double 
cocoons are worthless for breeding. One pound of cocoons will yield 
1 to 1 J ounces of eggs and a little less of selected eggs. Choose as far 
as possible an equal number of males and females ; the male cocoons 
are generally smaller, contracted in the middle, and pointed at the 
ends ; those of the females are larger, bigger around and flatter at the 
ends ; ' collect them on different frames in a room with a steady tem- 
perature of about 70° and darken it as soon as they begin to come out* 
only using light in handling them. 

When they begin to creep out, they should be watched between 
four and eight o'clock in the morning, as most of them pierce the co- 
•coons between five and six. The males (smaller, broad feelers, pointed 
bodies and active,) and the females should be brought together on 
suspended pieces of linen, muslin, cloth, &c. ; as soon as they have 
emptied out the red juice, lay under the suspended pieces similar stuff 
to catch the falling eggs. For those who wish to raise only one or 
two ounces of eggs, it is sufficient to place the impregnated females 
on a sheet of paper where they will lay. The laying lasts forty to 
forty-eight hours at a temperature of 75°, and sixty hours at a tem- 
perature of 68°. Keep away chickens, cats, wasps, and hornets. 

It is well to keep each day a certain number of males in reserve to 
use them the second day, if more females than males are hatched them 
Unimpregnated eggs remain light-colored, while the others change 
from yellow, through reddish-gray to slate-gray, and yellow-spinner 
eggs have a yellow-green sheen. 



(27) 



The above instructions are in substance those given by the Bran- 
denburg Silk Culture Society. In Southern Russia we never followed 
them to the letter, but the greatest care is always repaid. In order 
not to frighten the beginner, I will describe a simpler plan of silk- 
culture as it is employed in Turkey. Twigs, as they come from the 
tree, are placed for the worms from one to two feet long, the ends cut 
oif so as not to pile too loosely ; the cut leaves are dropped in between 
the twigs, and the nest is only cleaned after each moulting, and a good 
Turk does not clean it at all, losing in consequence many worms. Pro- 
fessor B. I. Dufour, many years in Turkey, thinks the system of clean- 
ing but once after each moulting very good, as the worm is compelled to 
hunt around for its food and thus exercises. He says the Turk begins 
by laying the twigs on the floor ; I think one foot above the floor is better 
in order to collect the fallen worms and clean away the dirt ; but Pro- 
fessor Dufour says " it is owing to the Oriental method alone that the 




Turkish system of Feeding. 

(Cocoons and worms in Reduced Size.) 



(28) 

Turkish silk worm has never suffered from disease." At the time of 
the last moulting, the nest is one foot high. Instead of spinning- 
heaths, Dufour recommends four feet high oak branches; the worms 
like them, but where oaks are wanting, asparagus, straw, and other 
dry twigs are good. Feed four to six times daily; six times is pre- 
ferred by some, as the leaves are not always equally distributed (that 
each worm may get its share). It is preferable to feeding three or four 
times, because if some worms do not get their portion three or four times 
they have three other chances of helping themselves. With only 
two meals a day, the worms do not prosper as they should. Chop- 
ping the leaves is done by many in Japan and China until the third 
moulting, but I am not in favor of it, and deny that it is better, al- 
though the cause of my aversion may be that I lived so near the 
Turkish border. 

Prominent Chinese growers feed the worms on the first day once 
every half hour, twenty- four times in all ; fifteen times the second 
day and ten times the third day. After the first moulting, the first 
day even three meals per hour are given; on the first day after the 
second moulting, two meals per hour, and after the third moulting 
three meals every two hours. After the last moulting, when greed- 
iness has set in, they feed continually. Attendants go from frame 
to frame with baskets of leaves and fill up wherever they see an 
empty place. Many Chinese authors think it better to feed night 
and day, for they think that thus the worms spin earlier ; they meas- 
ure the expected amount of silk by the number of days of growth : 
from those spinning in twenty-live days, they expect one-fifth more 
than from those spinning in twenty-eight days, and twice as much 
as from those spinning in thirty to forty days. 

Chinese and Japanese feed often, but little at each time. In Eu- 
rope great importance is attached to the use of wild mulberry leaves, 
which contain more food and less water in a given weight; for the 
same reason the large leaved varieties, formerly preferred and culti- 
vated in silk-growing lands, are now rejected. There are as many 
varieties of the mulberry as of the silk- worm, and often on the same 
tree no two leaves will be found alike. If by wild mulberry we 
mean trees grown on poor and dry land, and which, never being 
plucked, are covered with numerous small twigs and leaves, I would 
say that no extensive silk culture could follow their use. Silk culture 



(29) 

demands a well arranged mulberry culture, but just as soon as the 
mulberry is transplanted to better land, manured, watered, and plucked, 
it changes to an improved variety ; in a single year the little sapless, 
leathery leaves change to large luxuriant leaves. The great influence 
upon the leaves of cropping the trunk and branches we see in all for- 
est trees, for when a forest is cut down and grows again from sprouts, 
the leaves are generally of extraordinary size and luxuriance. 

Instead of the above advice, I would say, lay out your plantation 
on high, well drained ground, not on wet or swamp land. Do not 
water the trees too much, and do not cut them back, for if robbed to 
too great an extent of their leaves and twigs, the reserve strength 
that would have formed bark and fibre, is consumed in new leaves 
and twigs, so that in the following year the harvest of leaves is less, 
and the quality is not so good. This degeneration is greatest when 
two generations of silk worms of the Bivoltini race are raised in the 
same year. It should therefore be a rule to use a tree only every 
other year. 

As moths from the earliest worms are used for breeding, those 
from the stragglers should be rigorously excluded. The earliest 
moths are also ordinarily excluded because they are few in number. 
The moths which appear with great regularity between half-past four 
and seven o'clock in the morning, should not be allowed to pair im- 
mediately; they should rest at least an hour; firstly, to develop 
fully their wings and strength; secondly, to pass off the liquid secre- 
tion. The paired moths should not be separated before 3 o'clock in the 
afternoon ; the separation should be very carefully done ; the body of 
the female should be held in the fingers of the left hand, that of the 
male in the fingers of the right hand and he should then be turned 
slowly on his axis, without pulling or jerking; ordinarily they sepa- 
rate very easily; but should this not happen, put the pair back and 
repeat the operation again after a short time. The separated females, 
on stretched sheeting or on paste-board, or paper, in order to secure a 
thick deposit of eggs, should be set close together, giving each about 
one square inch; for this purpose the cloth might be ruled out in 
square inches. If some females have not enough place, they can be- 
changed to where an empty place is ; it is wonderful how even a de- 
posit of eggs is obtained, almost as even as the Japanese card-boards, 
which the inexperienced suppose to be artificially made. If the 



(30) 

moths are too far apart it is very difficult to fill up the gaps 
equally. 

On the same cloth or paste-board only females hatched the same 
morning ought to be used. Their number is to be noted, also the 
weight of the empty and the covered card-board or cloth, so that after 
calculating the weight of 1,000 eggs it is possible to determine the 
total number of eggs, as also the average production of each female. 

Until the next morning, the females will have deposited most of 
their eggs. They are now removed and allowed to deposit the remain- 
der on a separate board. Among these last eggs, many will retain 
their yellow color; this may be a sign of being un impregnated; but 
this is not always the case, because every grower knows that from 
eggs which remain yellow worms have developed. Among silk 
worms the so-called Parthenogenesis sometimes occurs, and accord- 
ingly unimpregnated eggs might hatch, but this is very rare; of 2,000 
unimpregnated eggs, only one will develop, while the development of 
a yellow egg from an impregnated female is very common. 

SHORT RULES. 

1. Select the best cocoons for eggs. 

2. As soon as the moths creep out, keep only the finest, hardest, 
whitest, and in the yellow sort the lightest yellow. 

3. Kill all spotted and damaged looking moths. 

4. Keep the eggs in winter as near the freezing point as possible. 
A variation of temperature from zero Fahrenheit to 55° Fahrenheit 
does not harm the eggs. 

5. Never allow the worms to fast long. 

6. Never allow mould to form on the frames. 

7. Regulate changes of temperature as carefully for the worms as 
for your own family. 

8. Do not pile on too many leaves, as mould is apt to form. 

9. As soon as the worms want to spin, give them spin-heaths, 
otherwise they waste silk. 

10. Three days after the spinning collect the cocoons for reeling. 

11. If you have no reel, kill the chrysalides in the cocoon, other- 
wise it will develop into a moth in 17 to 20 days. 

12. The best cocoons keep for eggs. 







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